I store medicines in my vehicle or a practice vehicle; are vehicles veterinary practice premises?

To register a new premises, please complete the Register of Veterinary Practice Premises Form (see the 'Related documents' box below). You will also need to pay a £34 registration fee.

Payment can be made online via the RCVS website. After your completed form is received, you will receive a pre-registration email with log in credentials to set up an account to pay online.

Please submit your completed form by email to: [email protected]

The annual statutory registration fee is £34 for each veterinary practice premises and VAT is not payable. For example, if a practice has one main practice premises and two branch premises, each premises must be registered each year (3 x £34 = £102). 

For veterinary practice premises accredited under the RCVS Practice Standards Scheme, the annual statutory registration fee is taken from the annual fees paid to the Scheme. An annual statutory registration fee will be payable for any premises that are not PSS-accredited.

Payment can be made via 'MyAccount' using the log in credentials for the practice premises.

Anybody involved with the practice may register it as a veterinary practice premises with the RCVS, but it would be helpful if within the practice there is agreement about who is to be the point of contact.

If you practise from your home and supply medicines from there, your home must be registered with the RCVS as a veterinary practice premises. Even if you store only small quantities of medicines at your home, you will need to register your home as a veterinary practice premises if you supply those medicines to others (supply includes administering medicines to other people’s animals).

However, if you keep a small quantity of medicines at your home, for example, for on-call purposes, and that store of medicines is recorded at a registered veterinary practice premises, the home premises need not be registered.

Premises likely to be considered as ‘veterinary practice premises’ by the RCVS and the VMD are those

• from which the veterinary surgeons of a practice provide veterinary services; and/or, 
• advertised or promoted as premises of a veterinary practice; and/or, 
• open to members of the public to bring animals for veterinary treatment and care; and/or, 
• not open to the public, but which are the base from which a veterinary surgeon practises or provides veterinary services to more than one client; and/or, 
• to which medicines have been and/or will continue to be delivered wholesale, on the authority of one or more veterinary surgeons in practice, even if those medicines have not yet been used or have only been used on your own animals or those of family and/or friends

This is not an exhaustive list of premises that may be considered as veterinary practice premises.

Yes; all practice premises from which medicines are supplied must be registered with the RCVS.

The charity/business premises may be veterinary practice premises, if, for example:

1. the premises are open to members of the public to bring animals for veterinary treatment and care (i.e. the animals are not owned by the charity/business)
2. the premises are used as a base to provide veterinary services to other clients
3. drugs are delivered and/or supplied from the premises and stored there overnight.

Yes; the charity/business premises are likely to be considered veterinary practice premises for the purposes of supplies of those veterinary medicines to the charity/business, for animals owned by the charity. (You or the charity may register the premises with the RCVS).

NB. The Veterinary Medicines Regulations provide that a veterinary surgeon may supply veterinary medicines (for example, POM-Vs after the clinical assessment of an animal under his or her care) ‘irrespective of who owns [those medicines].’ (Schedule 3 paragraph (6) (b))

If you authorise supplies of medicines to the charity/business, you are responsible for the medicines, for example, correct storage and annual audit; responsibility may be shared with the charity/business.

A mobile unit (which includes an ambulatory unit) cannot be registered by itself as a Veterinary Practice Premises (VPP), but must be linked to a registered ‘bricks and mortar’ premises where the unit is normally stored (even if no veterinary services or VMP supply takes place from the premises itself).

A stall at an exhibition or show which is for the promotion of a registered VPP and/or veterinary services, does not need to be registered as a VPP in its own right, and small quantities of VMPs can be supplied, provided the stall is an extension of the registered VPP. This applies as long as an MRCVS is present to supply the VMPs. If there is no MRCVS present then an SQP is required and the location will need to be registered as a VPP.

If the stall is operating solely to retail supply VMPs, then it needs to be registered as a standalone VPP. However, a tent or marquee cannot be registered as a standalone VPP as neither is considered to be permanent premises.

In the case of a mobile unit, (which would include a tent or marquee), like the vet’s car, the unit must be related to the promotion of a Registered VPP and/or a vet treating animals, and cannot be used solely as a mobile shop to retail supply VMPs. 

No; if you take smaller quantities of (stock) medicines to the charity/business premises, the premises are unlikely to be considered veterinary practice premises (unless 17a or b is applicable), but you will need to keep a record of the premises (see Chapter 4 of the supporting guidance to the Code of Professional Conduct: Veterinary medicines and FAQs, 'Our practice is changing ownership, do we need to re-register the premises?' and 'What is the record requirement' below).